


Temper

by Kien Rugastelo (cein)



Category: Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Cuddling & Snuggling, Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-20
Updated: 2020-09-20
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:55:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,932
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26554699
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cein/pseuds/Kien%20Rugastelo
Summary: He needed Kurogane by his side. He needed Kurogane to temper him — to keep him from becoming a wild thing without a heart at the drop of a hat. He needed Kurogane to steady him, to remind him that he loved and was loved in return. He needed Kurogane: steady, short-tempered, deliberate, human, his.--A battle leaves Fai shaken and it is up to Kurogane to settle him back down.
Relationships: Fay D. Fluorite/Kurogane
Comments: 6
Kudos: 74





	Temper

Fai hated castles. He hated the court that had thrown him and his brother into that valley with the tower. He hated that he was next brought to another castle, where he was only made to be used again, though he had no way to know that at the time. He never once admitted to his princely heritage when he could avoid it. He deliberately avoided participating in Tomoyo’s court whenever he could — only ever even ventured into the palace of Clow to see Sakura, and even then, he preferred to have her show him the many interesting ruins surrounding it instead of remaining inside any longer than necessary.

There was not a single bright and shining, untainted, happy memory for him in castles, and so he avoided them like the plague.

This particular castle was a doozy. After Syaoran’s clone had taken the feather of this world, he’d left behind a power vacuum that had been filled by a sorceress, and not a very nice one at that, if the townspeople could be believed.

The plan of attack had been simple: allow themselves to be escorted in on presumption of seeking an audience with the sorceress, and then disable her quickly, at which time whichever guards were under her spell should be freed, and the ones that served of their own free will could be dealt with. Though Fai questioned the wisdom of their continued interference, he couldn’t deny that they bore some responsibility for the regime change, and Syaoran especially wouldn’t feel right until they had undone what his clone had caused, so Fai had agreed.

It was all well and good, up until they had actually stepped into the keep and Fai had sensed the dampening field they had entered. It wasn’t a problem necessarily — none of them relied on magic exclusively — but it was annoying, and being cut off from his magic always put him in a bit of a foul mood.

Kurogane had sensed it, too, and laid a soothing hand where Fai’s neck met his shoulder, and it did help to calm him somewhat, though Fai couldn’t say he was looking forward to taking down a sorceress with weapons alone.

And he’d been right to be. Syaoran had gone first, whisked away into what the sorceress, who had introduced herself as Saliya, called a shadow dimension. Fai doubted there really was such a thing — could feel Syaoran still close and alive wherever he was — but he made sure to stay clear of those dark orbs she threw after that, improvising with a long candlestick in place of a staff, reminding him too much of the fight in Koryo for his liking.

Kurogane must have still felt Syaoran, too, because he didn’t hesitate to charge forward, expertly avoiding the attacks himself, until one came too close to dodge effectively, and he cut it in half with his sword. It didn’t work, but before he’d vanished as Syaoran had, he’d thrown his weapon Fai’s way, and though it clattered to the ground, Fai knew exactly what he was expected to do — what Fai had felt himself wanting to do since Syaoran disappeared from his sight.

“Oh dear,” Fai said brightly, leaning down to pick up the fallen sword, “That was a mistake.”

“Was it?” Saliya countered, more amused than anything else.

“You see, I’m not like Kuro-tan at all,” Fai continued, choosing to look at the blade instead of his opponent for now. “He loves to fight, especially with a sword. He likes to be able to feel how strong his opponent is in every strike. He likes being able to feel how much damage he inflicts with each blow so he can temper himself. And he likes to win, and know that he is still the strongest.

“I hate fighting,” Fai continued, voice gone sour. “I don’t like drawn-out battles and taking unnecessary risks. And unlike Kuro-rin,” he concluded, finally taking an offensive stance, “There is absolutely nothing that will make me hesitate to kill to protect my family.”

It was over quickly. All the magic dampening in the world couldn’t slow his latent vampire speed. To Saliya’s credit, she had managed to take a shot — one Fai dodged with grace — before her head was separated clean from her shoulders, rolling to a halt at the bottom of the stairs. With disgust on his face, Fai flicked the blade as he had seen Kurogane do a thousand times over, forcing the blood off the steel and onto the floor. The remaining guards were unmoving behind him when he turned to address them, but before he had even begun his threat, they had turned and fled.

So much the better, Fai thought, feeling the effects of the dampening field dissolve around him, and the presence of his missing family return. It was with a smile stretched thin on his face that Fai moseyed over to Kurogane with false cheer, “Thanks for letting me borrow Ginryuu, Kuro-sama.”

Again, Kurogane’s hand came down heavily across the back of his neck, subtly rubbing at the tension there. “I won’t make a habit of it.”

It was a promise, Fai knew — that he wouldn’t be leaving Fai to fight alone, that he wouldn’t be putting the burden on Fai to fight close and personal whenever it could be avoided — and Kurogane was always one to keep his promises.

* * *

It was always a blessing that Syaoran was always willing and able to play spokesperson for their little group. Kurogane wasn’t much a sociable type, and while Fai could be, he was far from feeling so at the time. And he especially wasn’t feeling up for being a guest of honor at the spontaneous celebration the town had put together, but here he was, sitting at a raised table with Syaoran and Kurogane on either side of him, more food and drink piled in front of them than they knew what to do with. Well, maybe he knew what to do with the drinks, but he doubted they’d do much for him now aside from making his foul mood worse.

It was only with the consideration that liquor might make the party slightly more tolerable that Fai reached forward for a bottle, only for Kurogane’s hand to catch his wrist before his fingers could make contact. When Fai turned to ask what exactly Kurogane thought he was doing, he was met with eyes that studied him intently, looking right past his remaining walls and defenses and straight into his soul. “Let’s go.”

“Surely Kuro-chan isn’t suggesting we play hookey?” Fai purred, still trying to put his best face on for the locals.

“Feh, like they’ll notice,” came the counter-argument and, well, Fai couldn’t argue much with that, so when Kurogane tugged just a little more insistently, Fai followed, creeping down the dais and behind various booths and stands until they made it back to their room at the inn, having not encountered a single person along the way.

“Just like Kuro-rin to sneak all the way back home,” Fai teased, shutting the door behind himself and more than ready for a bath, but Kurogane was in front of him, crowding but not quite touching.

“You’re still tense,” Kurogane observed, bracing an arm above Fai’s head and leaning forward so they were nearly eye-to-eye. “What do you need?”

Fai huffed out a soft laugh. “I’m alright, really — ”

If anything, Kurogane only drew closer, and Fai could feel himself being caged in by Kurogane’s sheer bulk. Not as a threat, but a reflex to keep Fai from bolting, as he had often been liable to do in the past. “What do you need?” Kurogane repeated, now with just a little more heat.

“You’re sweet,” Fai commented, taking Kurogane’s face in both palms, and admiring the faint blush his words had brought. Sometimes, Fai believed he was the only one in the world to tell Kurogane that, and the thought always brought a small ache to his heart. Fai’s hands trailed down to either side of Kurogane’s kimono, clutching the fabric there. “You,” he decided, hiding his face in the folds. He needed Kurogane by his side. He needed Kurogane to temper him — to keep him from becoming a wild thing without a heart at the drop of a hat. He needed Kurogane to steady him, to remind him that he loved and was loved in return. He needed Kurogane: steady, short-tempered, deliberate, human,  _ his _ . “I need you.”

“You have me,” Kurogane rumbled, and when Fai glanced back up at that, he found his lips captured in a kiss. Fai felt as Kurogane shifted so both his hands cradled the back of Fai’s head, thumbs rubbing in small circles until they pulled apart. “Bed?”

It was the best suggestion Fai had heard all day. “Bed.”

* * *

Some time later, with Fai wrapped up tightly in Kurogane’s embrace, Kurogane spoke again: “Talk to me.”

“There’s nothing to talk about,” Fai deflected, but Kurogane only held him tighter, grounding him. Fai could hardly hold out against his persistence. “You both scared me today,” he admitted.

“We won,” Kurogane countered gently.

“But what if we hadn’t?” Fai continued, as if Kurogane was being deliberately obtuse. “What if — ”

Fai’s words stopped with the press of Kurogane’s lips in his hair. “There are no what-ifs,” he offered, breath pushing the strands. “It’s over,” he asserted, though Fai didn’t really find comfort in those words. “I would never leave you to fight a battle you couldn’t win.”

“That’s not what scared me,” Fai murmured, pressing back into the heat of Kurogane’s body, wanting to bury himself in him — to wrap Kurogane around himself like a blanket and tie him there so they would never be separated like that again.

“I know,” Kurogane conceded, “But I also knew you would come for us. She wasn’t a match for you, even without your magic.”

Fai scoffed at that. “She shouldn’t have been a match for you, either, and look what happened.”

“You’re right,” Kurogane said and it was the last thing Fai thought he would hear coming from his mouth, “But the kid needed me, and I knew you could handle her.”

Fai hadn’t considered the possibility before that Kurogane had been captured deliberately. He’d thought Kurogane leaving him his sword was an admission of failure, not the result of a calculated choice. The revelation sucked some of the fight out of him. “Why?”

“Because you’d find me,” Kurogane said, fitting himself against Fai as if he could become a human weighted blanket. “No matter where I go, or what happens, I know you’ll find me. And if the time ever comes,” Kurogane continued, voice heavy with promise, “I’ll find you and bring you back. Every time.”

Fai wanted to believe that. He wanted to believe that Kurogane could do whatever he wanted through sheer power of will if nothing else, but experienced told Fai otherwise. “You can’t promise that.”

“I can,” Kurogane asserted, kissing the shell of Fai’s ear as the closest bit of skin he could reach, “And I am.”

Fai wanted to believe that, and so he chose to try, and maybe one day, he actually would. He couldn’t say that just then, though, and so he said something just as important and much more in reach. “I love you.”

It was alright, then, when Kurogane nosed into the nape of Fai’s neck, finally settling down for some actual sleep, that Fai could feel the breath hot on his neck and the rumbling of a chest at his back: “I love you, too.”

**Author's Note:**

> Fai: *unsettled after a fight*  
> Kurogane: *squeezes until the Bad Thoughts fall out*
> 
> [More notes](https://deforrest-bergan.tumblr.com/post/629768943405531136/temper-kien-rugastelo-cein-tsubasa)


End file.
